Return (Snape x Male Reader)

viii

song: tears - rush

3rd pov

"this is— this is some cruel joke, right?" y/n asked, his voice as shaky as his hands.

he read the words on the letter over and over again, unable to believe what they said.

'we regret to inform you...'

it just wasn't true. there was no way that it could be true.

"y/n..." dumbledore said, his voice soft, like if he had spoken any louder, y/n would shatter into a million pieces.

snape still had no clue what was going on, dumbledore and y/n both not answering his questions when he asked them.

tears began to well up in y/n's eyes, his entire body beginning to tremble violently as he held in his sobs.

"it's— it's not true! they're not dead!"

snape could feel his stomach sink. now he knew what was going on.

'we regret to inform you that [your mom's full name] and [your dad's full name] were declared deceased at 9:43 a.m. this morning.

the circumstances of their death are still not fully known, but the involvement of the death eaters is suspected.

we are sorry for your loss,

the ministry of magic'

those words just couldn't be real. no matter how many times he read them over, he couldn't fathom it.

snape stepped beside dumbledore and took the letter from his hands and read it. a deep frown settled onto his features.

"voldemort has been gone for three years! why has the ministry of magic allowed for his followers to continue to wreak havoc?" y/n said, his voice ragged and unsteady.

"y/n! you know not to say his name!" dumbledore said.

"does it matter? my parents are gone because of him! not saying his name now isn't going to bring them back!" y/n yelled, the tears finally falling from his eyes.

his breathing was labored and he sucked in a choked breath. he finally allowed himself to fully break down, collapsing to the ground as sobbed in agony. he kneeled, bent over on the floor, clawing at his chest as the pain in it began to get excruciating.

dumbledore and snape stood beside him, unable to console him. all they could do was let him cry it out.

when his sobs turned into small whimpers and he was no longer trembling, dumbledore and snape helped him to his feet and led him to his room to get some rest.

he wasn't in any of his classes for the next week. of course, his absences were excused, but that week was crucial in order ensure a passing grade for the upcoming n.e.w.t. exams.

when y/n finally returned to his classes, he didn't participate. he was unable to focus, mostly staring off into space. his teachers were lenient with him, knowing that he'd just lost his parents.

he turned in the bare minimum, enough to keep his grades barely above failing.

he stopped talking to his friends, stopped going to snape's class in his free time. he became severely anti social, locking himself away im his room at all times. dante tried many times to get through to him, but nothing worked.

snape kept a close eye on him, never missing when his eyes would cloud over and he'd get teary eyed.

it was obvious that snape had a severe soft spot for the boy, because if it had been anyone else who'd lost their parents, snape still wouldn't have allowed them to slack off.

it took time, but after awhile, y/n wasn't as sad anymore.

he was angry.

there was a perpetual scowl etched onto his face. people avoided him more than ever, knowing that if they did anything even slightly annoying to him, he'd snap at them.

when y/n snapped at snape, the line was finally drawn. snape had given him room for grief, but there would be no room for him to take his anger out on him and his students.

"l/n, stay after class," snape said, not missing the flash of guilt that passed over y/n's face.

y/n huffed and turned his attention back to his work, furiously scribbling down words.

when class came to an end, y/n remained in his seat instead of leaving as fast as he could like he usually did.

"y/n," snape said.

y/n looked up, slightly shocked that snape addressed him by his first name instead of his last.

"i understand the anger and grief you are feeling, and i have been lenient with you because of that," snape said, folding his arms behind his back as he spoke.

"but you're beginning to let yourself go, and it's going to cost you your future," he continued.

he could see y/n's lower lip tremble. y/n turned his head and wiped at his eyes.

"what's even the point? who's supposed to be there when i graduate? who's supposed to be there for all of my achievements? why even bother now that they're gone?" y/n asked, his voice weak and shaky.

"you must achieve things for yourself, not for the approval of your parents. if you let yourself go now, you're going to regret it,"  snape said. "take all of your anger and put it to use. allow your anger to fuel you, energize you to finish this year strong. go against the odds, so when the time comes and you need to let yourself fall, there with be a soft cushion for you to land on."

with that, snape left the classroom, giving y/n the privacy to gather himself. standing outside of the door for a moment, snape could hear y/n break down into uncontrollable sobs.

rip y/n's parents LOL